THE mother of a fallen soldier says she is counting down the days until the last British serviceman leaves Afghanistan.

British combat forces are expected to quit the war zone, where they have fought since October 2001, by the end of the year.

Included in the 448-name roll of honour is Private Johnathon Young, 18, of Orchard Park, north Hull, who was killed instantly when he stepped on a bomb hidden in an alleyway in the town of Sangin in Helmand Province on August 20, 2009.

His mother Angie Fox, who lives in Jipdane in the estate where she brought up her son, his brother Carl, and sister Leah, said: "I am looking forward to the last soldier leaving Afghanistan.

"To me, it hasn't been worth the loss of all those British lives."

Private Young, of 3rd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, was sent on his first deployment as a "battlefield casualty replacement" following a summer of heavy British losses.

Factory worker Angie said: "It will be hard seeing all the troops return in December because my son should have come home."

Once the Taliban were toppled in 2001, British forces, part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), began training Afghan forces, while battling insurgents.

It is a mission that continues today, although British-led combat operations, Special Forces missions aside, have now ceased, with Afghans leading their own missions.

But Angie believes the task of training-up the Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army so they are able to prevent the Taliban has taken too long.

"We've been there 13 years now, we've been there too long," she said.

Private Young, who attended the former Sir Henry Cooper School on his estate before joining the Army, is buried at Northern Cemetery in Chanterlands Avenue, west Hull.

His mother visits the grave most weeks.

"It's the one place where I can find some comfort and think about Johnathon," said Angie.

"Even now, five years after we lost him, it's as raw as the day we found out he had been killed in Afghanistan."

Angie and her family had a bench placed next to the grave, which they decorate each birthday and Christmas.

"We are about to attach a plaque to the bench, which we are going to stain," said Angie. "We have just been waiting for the weather to improve."

Angie says she feels an overwhelming sense of bitterness when she considers Britain's mission in Afghanistan.

"I am very bitter," she said. "Carl and his partner have just had a baby. Johnathon should have been with us celebrating.

"He was 18 years old. He should have had girlfriends and been going on holiday."

Military experts generally regard Operation Herrick – the official name of the mission – as a partial success so far in that the Taliban were removed from power and security has improved for the local population.

However, final judgement is reserved until the international force withdraws, leaving the Afghan security forces to prevent the Taliban re-taking the capital Kabul.